Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

So many questions, so many threads! I'm going to go ahead and keep the rest of my questions in this thread so I don't have 1,000 threads for all my questions. I've got a few right now (not related to my A/C or brakes, as far as I know )

Currently, I will be ordering a surge tank for my 97 DeVille. Few questions about this: It seems very simple to replace, but what exactly is this thing?? What goes in it?

Next question;
My front two windows do not roll down, but my rear ones do. The front two do not make any sound or anything, the buttons just don't do anything! Will a new window motor most likely fix my issue? From what I'm seeing the DeVille only has one fuse for all four windows (correct me if I'm wrong, I actually think I am as I don't understand how both front windows can go out at the same time), what else could cause this issue, and what all can I do to troubleshoot it?

Number three;
I've got a rusted out muffler, my right-side muffler to be specific. I was going to replace both of the mufflers with the SoundFX Walker mufflers until my brakes went out on me, now I'm tight on cash. From my understanding, the 54151 is the stock muffler on the DeVille in the right-side. Can someone confirm this?

Question four!;
The vehicle was involved in a minor accident from the previous owner, the front bumper has a nice little crack in it and a few dents. What's the best place to purchase OEM body panels/pieces? (With factory color options if possible)

That's all for now! I'm sure more will come soon..
I also want to say you guys have been very helpful so far and have been helping more than any shops or mechanic places. (They all just want me to have them fix everything! )

Junkyard bumper.
Window switch drivers prob bad, ebay/junkyard(30-50 dollars). Both mine were bad. All the window wiring goes through this switch then to each door. The switches break easily, also any water from window being left down(who hasn't done that) can trash them.

Re: Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

Currently, I will be ordering a surge tank for my 97 DeVille. Few questions about this: It seems very simple to replace, but what exactly is this thing?? What goes in it?

The surge tank is where the coolant goes (there is no "radiator cap"). On many other cars it is called the coolant reservoir or overflow tank and is unpressurized. On the Northstar it is a part of the pressurized cooling system. It is the expansion tank for the coolant to go to when it expands as well as provides coolant when the W/P RPM increases and draws down the coolant. Just rev the engine with the cap off (cold engine) and you'll see what I mean. It will draw down and then rise again when the RPM comes down, thus the name "surge" tank.

Re: Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

Originally Posted by Ranger

The surge tank is where the coolant goes (there is no "radiator cap"). On many other cars it is called the coolant reservoir or overflow tank and is unpressurized. On the Northstar it is a part of the pressurized cooling system. It is the expansion tank for the coolant to go to when it expands as well as provides coolant when the W/P RPM increases and draws down the coolant. Just rev the engine with the cap off (cold engine) and you'll see what I mean. It will draw down and then rise again when the RPM comes down, thus the name "surge" tank.

Any special thing needed to be done when replacing this? I watched a video last night and it seemed all they did was replace the old one, and fill the new one back up.

Re: Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

Discovered something new that's rather.. Weird..
Whenever I turn the vehicle on (On, engine off) after it sits for an hour or so, there's this strange "knocking" that very gently moves the vehicle (wouldn't notice it unless you were really paying attention. Checked the codes for anything odd, after clearing them I still get the following code.

B1971 HISTORY - Inadvertent Power

I have cleared this numerous times and it still returns, also take note, my license plate lamps do not work and none of my interior lights work, could this be the cause? What exactly does this inadvertent power mean?

There's also this pumping sound that comes from underneath the vehicle when I leave it on (engine off) that I am not familiar with. It comes and goes, sound stays for about 30 seconds or less, and doesn't come back for a good minute or so.

Re: Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

Interior lights will ONLY work when it's dark out unless you turn the knob.
That noise with key on is ELC running(do a search here for it only a few hundred thousand posts about it).
License plates bulbs are prob blown out.
There is only one bulb btw.
inadvertent power turns everything off after 10 minutes of car being off so it doesn't drain the battery. The relay is prob bad. Located in fuse panel under hood FSM states. Swap with horn relay if both are 4 pin and see if code goes away.

Re: Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

Originally Posted by rodnok01

Interior lights will ONLY work when it's dark out unless you turn the knob.
That noise with key on is ELC running(do a search here for it only a few hundred thousand posts about it).
License plates bulbs are prob blown out.
There is only one bulb btw.
inadvertent power turns everything off after 10 minutes of car being off so it doesn't drain the battery. The relay is prob bad. Located in fuse panel under hood FSM states. Swap with horn relay if both are 4 pin and see if code goes away.

Hmm. Could that relay be the possibility of why the car is hard to start after a night of sitting outside? Explains why the guy I bought it from had to jump it..

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the interior lights do not turn on at all, at night, when I turn them on, nothing. Before I was getting the code

Re: Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

That relay also interacts with the interior lights IIRC.
There is a relay for interior lamps behind back seat, but bet that code is directly related to the Inadvert code.
I hope you got a good deal on this car

Re: Questions - 1997 Deville repair and maintenance

Originally Posted by rodnok01

That relay also interacts with the interior lights IIRC.
There is a relay for interior lamps behind back seat, but bet that code is directly related to the Inadvert code.
I hope you got a good deal on this car